Hidden Thoughts
by Donnie'sTwilight
Summary: Ever wondered what happened between the scenes of the turtles in 2012? What they were thinking? Well, here's the story for your answers. Dialogue and action in the actual TV show is true. The rest is all my idea. Rated K because Raph has some colorful thinking. :) Also, a little bit of romance.
1. Episode 1-Part 1

**Hidden Thoughts**

**Title: **_Hidden Thoughts_

**Author: **_Donnie'sTwilight_

**Summary: **_Ever wondered what the guys were thinking, what they did in their free time during the 2012 series of the turtles so far? Well, here's my idea. Everything that has happened in the turtles so far, but with my own ideas and twists into it. _

**Pairings: **_Donnie/April_

**Rating: **_K+_

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own the turtles. Oh, how I wish I did. But, nope. I don't. I wouldn't be writing stories like this. _

**A/N: **_I just started this story, but I've been working on the idea for a while. It will follow the storyline exactly of every single episode of the turtles up to episode 14. I It shouldn't take long for me to update this because I already have almost everything for it already done. This entire story will be done in third person. Japanese word definitions will be at the bottom of every chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 1: **_Episode 1—Part 1_

Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello knelt in the dojo, Leonardo facing Michelangelo and Raphael facing Donatello. It wasn't a very fair fight, but they would deal with it.

It was Michelangelo and Leonardo's turn to spar, so they both stood up, drawing their weapons out. Actually, Leonardo only pulled out one katana, saving the other one.

_I might actually get Leo this time. I just gotta keep him distracted long enough for me to strike, _Michelangelo thought eagerly as he frowned at Leonardo, Leonardo returning the gesture.

_This will be easy, _Leonardo thought. _I always beat Mikey. There's no way he's going to beat me this time. Not when I'm paying the most attention to the spar._

"Hi-yah!" Leonardo yelled.

Leonardo charged forward, raising his katanas. Michelangelo ran at his older brother, swinging his nunchucks around.

Michelangelo chanted, "Oh, yeah! Michelangelo is on the move!" as he dodged all of Leonardo's strikes and Leonardo avoided all of Michelangelo's attacks. "You know what to do!"

Michelangelo dove for the ground as Leonardo tried to swing at his younger brother. "I'm here," Michelangelo said smugly as he rolled out of the way of another katana. _This is almost too easy this time, _Michelangelo thought. "I'm there." He jumped out of the way as Leonardo swung again.

_It's too bad he doesn't realize that I haven't really been trying because I'm watching his patterns so I can plan the perfect attack, _Leonardo thought.

Michelangelo moved his nunchucks around as he talked again. "How do you stop what you can't even _see_?" Michelangelo questioned before he ran at Leonardo, swinging his nunchucks around. Leonardo holds his katana out in front of him, gripping the hilt and the blade.

When Michelangelo was close enough, Leonardo slammed the hilt of his katana into his plastron. Michelangelo immediately dropped his nunchucks on the floor and rolled to safety. Then he stuck his tongue out and fell on the floor.

"Like that?" Leonardo asked smugly.

_I can't believe he got me, _Michelangelo thought as he held up a finger. "Good one, Leo," he made out weakly, dropping his hand to the floor. _He just caught me off guard. That's it. But that's not really fair. That really hurt._

As Michelangelo went to kneel on a mat off to the side, Donatello and Raphael stood up, ready to go. Donatello pulled out his Bo-staff and twirled it around a bit, practicing just a bit. Raphael watched Donatello, completely amused. Donatello positioned himself just right so his Bo-staff is pointed in Raphael's direction.

_This is just so adorable, _Raphael thought, cracking his neck twice before shaking his head.

"Alright, Donnie," Raphael started. "Put down the staff and no one gets hurt."

_I'm not falling for that again. Just gotta keep a clear head and stay focused. Don't fall for anything Raph tries, _Donatello thought as he lowered the Bo-staff a bit, keeping a tight grip on it.

"Uh, you said that last time, Raph, and then you hurt me," Donatello pointed out angrily, calling Raphael on it.

"Yeah, but…" Raphael said, "less than I would have."

"Yeah, right," Donatello snapped sarcastically.

Donatello ran at Raphael as he spun his Bo-staff around. He slams his staff down where Raphael's foot was and Raphael jumped back. Donatello stabs the end of his staff at Raphael and he narrowly avoids getting hit. This went on until Donatello was about to strike and was spinning the staff over his head, when the staff was supposed to come down, there was nothing in his hands. He gasped soflty.

Donatello looked at Raphael, who was leaning against Donatello's Bo-staff. He smirked. _That was too easy, just like always. Yay! I get to break another one of Donnie's staffs,_ Raph thought as he spun the Bo-staff around a few times, then he snapped it cleanly in half with his knee, making sure Donatello was watching.

_Oh, come on! That's my fifth staff this week,_ Donatello complained in his head. But, he was also really scared of what was coming next. _Normally when he gets a hold of my Bo-staff, he always does something different to me with it to torture me._

"Should've dropped the staff?" Donatello guessed.

"Should've dropped the staff," Raphael agreed. Raphael twirled both pieces of the Bo-staff and then he ran towards Donatello. Donatello drops to the ground out of instinct as Raphael started beating him with the two halves of the Bo-staff.

"Okay, okay!" Donnie yelled. "Ow! I'm down!" _I'm getting sick and tired of this,_ Donatello thought painfully.

Leonardo pulled out his first katana again once Donatello was down. Raphael dropped the two halves of Donatello's Bo-staff, looking at Leonardo. Donatello got up painfully as he walked over to the mat where Michelangelo was kneeling. Donatello kneeled down next to him.

Donatello frowned at Michelangelo when Michelangelo stuck his tongue out at him. _What is he so happy about? He was beaten by Leo. He has no room to make fun of me for not winning, _Donatello thought angrily. _Now, I have to ask Splinter for a new staff later. Great. Soon, I'm going to run out of them and then what do I do? I'll have to start making my own soon._

Leonardo and Raphael knelt in front of each other, Leonardo on one knee. He held his katana behind his back.

"Onegai shimasu*," Leonardo said. Raphael looked at Leonardo sarcastically.

"Whatever you say," Raphael said, smirking.

Leonardo got to his feet, pointing his katana at Raphael. Raphael pulled out his sais and spun them around a bit. Leonardo moved forward and tried to bring his blade down. Raphael blocked it with ease, holding him at bay. They eventually pushed away and spun around so they were now facing each other, now they were only on opposite sides of the room. Leonardo swung at Raphael and Raphael ducked before the katana could come in contact with his head. He jumped back up to his feet once Leonardo wasn't as close. He held his sais out in front of him.

_Now this is actually a challenge. Not at all like facing Donnie or Mikey. This is exactly why I like facing off with Leo more than any of my other brothers. I still always beat him in the end, and it is fun to take Donnie and Mikey out only a minute after the fight starts, _Raph thought smugly as he spun his sais one more time and ran at Leonardo.

The fight went on for a little longer, and they didn't even stop when one of Raphael's sais went flying at the two kneeling off to the side. It didn't hit them and it didn't distract them, either. They hardly even blinked. They were used to stuff flying at their faces.

When Raphael was ready with only one sai left, Raphael and Leonardo charged at each other, while Michelangelo and Donatello watched intently. Raphael was ready and he knocked Leonardo's katana out of his hands. He locked Leonardo's wrist between the points on the sai and flipped Leonardo over his shoulder.

Leonardo groaned in pain, holding his shoulder. _That really hurts, _Leonardo thought as Raphael stood over him with a smug grin.

"Nice try," Raphael gloated.

Splinter pushed the doors to his room open, sliding them to the side. "Yame*!" he said to the turtles loudly. Michelangelo and Donatello look over at Splinter and Raphael looked shocked as he looked at Splinter, as well.

Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael kneeled in front of Splinter. Leonardo gets up a minute later and kneels down next to Raphael, bowing to Splinter as he passed Leonardo. Donatello was kneeling on the other side of Raphael, and Michelangelo knelt on the other side of Donatello.

"You all did very well," Splinter commented as he walked past them, walking around the turtles' line.

"But I did better," Raphael said smugly. Leonardo looked at Raphael with disbelief and anger.

"This is about self-improvement, Raphael. It is not about winning and losing," Splinter told Raphael.

"I know, sensei. But I won and they lost," Raphael smirked, crossing his arms behind his back smugly. _Yeah. I won. Of course I won,_ Raphael thought.

What Raphael didn't see is that Splinter stopped behind him. Before Raphael noticed anything, Splinter held a pressure point at his neck and his head. It was a pressure point for all the turtles.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Raphael said painfully. "But…what's really important is that we all did our best! Good job, everyone!"

Raphael groans in pain and falls to his hands and knees, gasping for breath slightly as Splinter lets go of Raphael's pressure point.

Splinter smiles victoriously and chuckled sort of evilly.

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onegai shimasu - I need your help.

yame - quit/stop


	2. Episode 1-Part 2

**Pairings:**_ April/Donnie(somewhat)_

**A/N: **_Okay, so I will keep writing this story because it's so fun to do. I mean, I already have everything that they do and say in each episode, but all I need to do now is write down their thoughts. This should be interesting. This is the part where Splinter tells the story of how they were all created. :D Sorry for not updating that much on this story. Hope you like this chapter._

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**Chapter 2: **_Episode 1—Part 2_

Michelangelo immediately headed to the kitchen after training was over to make dinner for everyone—worms and algae again, like always—and to finish making the cake he had started. He had nothing better than worms and algae to make the cake with, so he wasn't really sure why the cake mattered, but he wanted something to do.

Donatello headed to his lab to work on something. You could almost always find Donatello in his lab because he spent most of his time in there since he honestly had nothing better to do. He didn't really feel like training 24/7 so that's why he had taken up the free time he had to work on stuff, like his inventions and just learning more things.

Raphael and Leonardo went out to the main part of the lair to do separate things. Raph sat down on one of the bean bags out there and settled in with his comic book. His pet turtle, Spike, chomped on a leaf nearby. Leonardo sat down in front of the TV and turned on Space Heroes, his absolute favorite TV show.

About fifteen minutes later, Michelangelo called everyone into the kitchen. He was always so loud that you could hear him from almost anywhere in the lair. So, that meant that there was no excuse for not coming.

They ate for a few minutes. Well, Leonardo and Raphael did. Leonardo chewed his quickly, swallowing it with his eyes closed. Raphael stabbed his chopsticks into the algae and worms, picked a worm up, and ate it with a look of disgust on his face. Donatello looked at his plate miserably before picking up a worm and looking at it.

"Blegh!" he muttered.

_I hate eating this so much, _Donatello thought sadly.

Michelangelo stirred a big pot of the algae and worms he had given to his family members, so he wasn't eating. Splinter was just sitting there patiently.

"There's a little more algae and worms left if anyone wants it," Michelangelo said, a little hopefully. _I get so sick of eating this. I don't want them to leave it all for me, _Michelangelo thought. "Anybody? Anybody?"

Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello were quick to deny it. "No, thanks," Leonardo said quickly.

"I'm good," Raphael muttered.

"All yours," Donatello insisted.

Michelangelo came up to the table with the cake he had made behind his shell. _Maybe they'll eat the cake. I mean, they should. It's for a very special reason,_ Michelangelo thought. _I'm probably not going to eat any. I really don't feel like eating any more algae and worms._

"Well, I guess no one left room for…" Michelangelo trailed off, pulling the cake out and putting it on the table, "cake!"

"Whoa!" Leonardo exclaimed, looking at the cake. _Good sign,_ Michelangelo thought anxiously.

"It is a cake!" Donatello agreed as Raphael ran his finger over the surface of the cake and licks his finger curiously.

"Made of algae," Raphael sighed. A worm popped out and slithered back down into the cake. "And…worms." _What a surprise. Of course Mikey didn't make an actual cake. And I'm sick and tired of eating worms and algae all the freaking time, _Raphael thought angrily.

"What's the frosting made out of?" Leonardo wondered, eying Michelangelo suspiciously. Michelangelo pulled the cake back again, hiding it behind his back.

"You don't want to know," Michelangelo told them. Then he put the cake back on the table. "Happy Mutation Day!"

_Oh, yeah. How could I forget? _Donatello thought excitedly. _It is Mutation Day! That's why Mikey made the cake._

"Happy Mutation Day!" Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello chorused happily. Splinter watched his sons with a smile.

"Ah, yes," Splinter murmured. "Fifteen years ago, our lives changed forever and we became the unlikeliest of families."

"Tell us the story, Master Splinter," Mikey encouraged. _I love hearing this story every year. It never gets old,_ Michelangelo thought quickly, watching Splinter excitedly.

"Michelangelo, I have already told it many times," Splinter sighed.

But Michelangelo would get his way. "Please? Please!?" he whined and Raphael slapped his hands over Michelangelo's mouth angrily. _I hate it when he does this. It's always so annoying,_ Raphael thought, looking at Splinter.

"Please. It's the only way to shut Mikey up," Raphael muttered.

Splinter sighed, looking at his four sons. "Very well," Splinter told. "Many years ago—when I was still human—I was leaving the pet store with four baby turtles."

"Hey, that was us," Michelangelo said happily.

"Yes," Splinter answered. "Don't interrupt."

_Splinter walks along the street with the bowl of turtles in his hands. He was going to be very careful with them. _

"I passed a strange man on the street," Splinter continued.

_Suddenly, a guy bumped his shoulder into Hamato Yoshi—Splinter—and he did not even apologize. The guy disappeared and Hamato Yoshi watched him._

"Something felt…off about him," Splinter explained. "I decided to follow."

_In the alley where the man had gone, another man handed a container of a glowing neon blue ooze to the first man. Hamato Yoshi watched, and trying to get closer, he accidentally stepped on a rat. The rat squeaks loudly, and ran off when Hamato Yoshi raised his foot. The two identical men walk toward Hamato Yoshi._

"_Go no further. This place is a place where you are not allowed to be in this place. We have been seen in this place by you, so this is not a place that will be left by you," one of the men said menacingly as two other identical men walked up behind Hamato Yoshi, trapping him._

_Hamato Yoshi fought off the men as best he could. While he was fighting, the container of ooze crashed on the ground of the alley and the bowl of turtles fell into it. Some of the ooze touched Hamato Yoshi, and he screamed out as the ooze started doing things to him, mutating his body. It was very painful. The men ran off, hoping to not be noticed by anyone else. _

_When the mutation was done, Hamato Yoshi was now a mutant rat, and the turtles stood up hesitantly on their feet, having mutated somewhat with Hamato Yoshi. Hamato Yoshi had mutated with the rat he had stepped on. The turtles looked at themselves curiously, having noticed the change in their body._

Splinter held the container that had held the ooze up in front of him. The glass on one part of it had shattered when they had mutated.

"That was the beginning of our life together. It was the mysterious substance in this canister that—in a way—gave birth to us all," Splinter finished.

Michelangelo grabbed the broken canister out of Splinter's hands and hugged it to his plastron lovingly. _Oh, how I wish I had an actual mother. But this will do,_ Michelangelo thought happily.

"Mom," Michelangelo sighed, love and adoration in his voice.

_And that's why he's the youngest,_ Raphael thought gruffly as he and his two other brothers gave their youngest brother odd looks.

Leonardo ignored Michelangelo for a bit, turning to Splinter. _Hopefully tonight is the night that Splinter will let us go up to the surface. We've never been up there before and I really want to see what it looks like,_ Leonardo thought excitedly.

"So, Sensei, now that we're fifteen, I think we're finally ready to go up to the surface, don't you?" Leonardo asked. He and his brothers smiled at Splinter, hoping that Splinter would let them.

"Yes," Splinter said simply.

All of the turtles cheered excitedly, and Michelangelo pumped his fists in front of him. They were all finally going up to the surface and they just couldn't wait any longer.

"And no," Splinter added.

The turtles all groaned, disappointed now that their sensei had let them down like that. They all look at the table sadly.

"I hate when he does that," Raphael groaned sadly.

"You have grown powerful, but you are still young. You lack the maturity to use your skills wisely," Splinter explained.

_No, that's just Mikey. The rest of us are mature enough,_ Raphael thought defiantly in his head. Splinter got up and walked towards the door, or rather curtains leading out of the kitchen. Leonardo and Donatello turned around on their stools to look at Splinter, Raphael and Michelangelo having already been looking that way.

"So, Sensei, isn't that just… "no"?" Donatello asked.

"Yes," Splinter said. "And no. Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from making mistakes."

_I think I just found a loophole,_ Donatello thought, a little victorious in his head.

"Ah-ha. So, in order for us to gain the wisdom, we have to make the mistakes," Donatello cleared. "So we can go."

"No," Splinter answered quickly.

"And yes?" Donatello guessed.

"No," Splinter snapped.

Donatello groaned, looking at his lap. _That's not cool. I thought I had that one and Splinter just let me down. Now I look like an idiot,_ Donatello thought sadly.

"Sensei, we know you're trying to protect us, but we can't spend our whole lives hiding down here," Leonardo pointed out as the turtles all kneeled down on the floor in front of Splinter, trying to look cute so Splinter would let them go. Splinter looked at them, and found that they were pulling it off nicely because their eyes were wide and sparkling.

Splinter sighed and groans slightly. _Why must they do this whenever they want something?_ Splinter asked himself. "You may go…tonight," Splinter told them, giving up.

The turtles cheered again, now really excited. _We're finally going up there!_ Michelangelo thought excitedly as he jumped to his feet. "Booyakasha!" Michelangelo cheered. "High three!"

The turtles all slapped their hands against each other's in the center of all of them. _There's so much I could learn up there,_ Donatello thought in his mind over and over, listing off things he could see and discover in his head as he ran off to his lab.

_I can do so much exploring up there. Maybe I'll find something interesting that Splinter will let me keep,_ Michelangelo thought as he ran after Donatello. He and Donatello would be keeping an eye on the time and finding out when the sun went down. It was a useful job to do.

Leonardo and Raphael headed back out to the living room to hang out for a while until Donatello and Michelangelo told them that it was time to go.


	3. Episode 1-Part 3

**Pairings:**_ April/Donnie(in Donnie's mind :D)_

**A/N: **_This chapter is their first time going up to the surface. Yay! Donnie and Mikey are so cute in this part. Especially Donnie. April comes into the story in this chapter. Oh, by the way, italics is the parts with flashbacks and the things on TV. It's also thoughts. Most of this part is TV and thoughts._

* * *

**Chapter 3: **_Episode 1—Part 3(She's the Most Beautiful Girl I've Ever Seen.)_

In Donatello's lab, Donatello and Michelangelo are watching the clock and the sewer grate above. Well, Donatello is trying to. Michelangelo's pacing was getting on his nerves.

"Mikey!" Donatello snapped and the younger turtle looked at Donatello, pausing. Donatello pointed at the ground by his feet. "Sit! I can't concentrate while you're pacing around."

Michelangelo was quick and sat down at Donatello's feet, looking at the sewer grate. The dark was starting to come slowly, but now fast enough for Michelangelo.

"Donnie, when are we going to be able to go?" Michelangelo whined.

"Be patient," Donatello said calmly. Michelangelo nodded and looked back up at the ceiling.

In the living room, Raphael is busy reading a comic book. He had taken Spike to his room after he got out there because he was afraid of Spike getting stupid from watching the show that Leonardo was watching, Space Heroes. In Raphael's mind, Space Heroes is the stupidest show on the planet. Even stupider than the shows that Michelangelo watches. But, in Leonardo's mind, he thinks Space Heroes is the best show in the world. He totally looks up to Captain Ryan and how he handles things. Leonardo is sitting down right in front of the TV, watching Space Heroes like a dork.

"_Mr. Crankshaw, status report," Captain Ryan ordered._

"_Status?!" Mr. Crankshaw freaked. "I'll give you the status! We're going to blow up in two seconds!"_

_Before he can say any more, Captain Ryan slapped Mr. Crankshaw across the face. "Thank you, Captain," he sighed._

Leonardo stood up in front of the TV proudly. "Gentleman," Leonardo said in a strong tone. He was completely quoting Captain Ryan as he spoke. "I have a bold and daring plan. There's no time for hesitation. My orders must be carried out without question."

"_Aye, sir!" the crew on the ship with Captain Ryan declared. _

Leonardo smiled as he felt a surge of pride, as though all of those people were looking up to _him,_ going to _him_ for help. It made him very happy. Nothing could ruin his good mood.

_How could I got stuck with being younger than Leo? I'm obviously more mature. I mean, he watches such a stupid show. And he acts like a little kid when he does it. He's like Mikey,_ Raphael thought.

"You know this show is stupid, right?" Raphael asked his older brother. Leonardo looked at Raphael with a hurt expression. _How dare he insults my favorite show? Why does he have to be such a jerk?_ Leonardo thought to himself, slightly angry and really upset. But, he didn't show it.

"Space Heroes is a great show," Leonardo defended, "and Captain Ryan is a great hero. Someday, I am going to be just like him."

Raphael looked up at Leonardo slightly. "Well, you like to hear yourself talk, so…you're on your way."

Donatello and Michelangelo ran into the living room from Donatello's lab after seeing it was eight, and that the sky was all dark. Donatello and Michelangelo stood in front of their older brothers and swung their arm into the air as though they were playing the guitar.

"It's go time!" Michelangelo cheered.

All of the turtles excitedly ran to grab their weapons from the dojo. They all practiced a bit, just making sure they were all ready. They were all so excited about going up for the first time that they had to know that they were ready so nothing went wrong so Splinter would let them back up again. Preferably, the next night.

Once they all finished getting ready, they each lined up in front of Splinter near the exit. Michelangelo was having a hard time just standing there, but he knew that if he was out of line, he wouldn't be allowed to go. So, he kept his excitement in.

Splinter walked back and forth in front of his sons as he spoke to them. "You are going up to a strange and hostile world," Splinter told them. "You must maintain awareness at all time."

"Hai, Sensei," the turtles said quickly, eager to leave. They just turned to leave when Splinter talked to them again.

"Stay in the shadows," Splinter continued.

"Hai, Sensei," the turtles repeated. They tried to leave again, but Splinter stopped them. He was being way too over-protective over his sons.

"Don't talk to strangers," Splinter added.

"Hai, Sensei," the turtles agreed with a little less enthusiasm than before.

"Everyone is a stranger," Splinter included.

"Hai, Sensei," the turtles sighed, completely losing interest in what Splinter had to say now. They ran for the door, but they stopped on the steps when Splinter spoke yet again.

_Oh, come on, Splinter. We know how to be careful. We just want to leave now,_ Michelangelo thought hurriedly, completely bored.

"Make sure you go before you leave!" Splinter called to them. "The restrooms up there are filthy!"

"Sensei!" the turtles groaned. _Stop embarrassing us, Splinter, and just let us leave. I've waited all freaking night for this,_ Raphael thought.

Splinter sighed. "Good luck, my sons," he sighed.

"I am so pumped!" Donatello cheered.

"This is going to be epic!" Michelangelo agreed as Raphael and Leonardo talked over each other. The turtles all leaped over the turnstiles by the staircase and ran out.

"Look both ways before crossing the street!" Splinter yelled after them, but they didn't hear him. Splinter sighed sadly. _I just hope that nothing happens to them,_ Splinter thought as he headed to his room to meditate.

Nearby, the turtles found a manhole. Now, Michelangelo couldn't hold in his excitement. "What do you guys think we're going to find?" Michelangelo asked his brothers excitedly.

"Shut up, Mikey. A human could be near by. So, do you really want to be talking out loud?" Raphael hissed quietly. Michelangelo pouted at the red-banded turtle as Leonardo climbed up the ladder. He pushed the cover off and signaled for the rest of them to follow him, giving them the clear. All of the turtles climbed out and looked around. Donatello was careful enough to close the manhole again as they looked around.

"Huh?" Leonardo and Donatello gasped softly.

It was actually a really dirty part of New York. There was graffiti all over the walls, and the ground of the alley was covered in trash and dirt. Rats squeaked as they ran around, hiding in the shadows. You could hear cars beeping off in the distance. A homeless man laid on a torn up, old mattress. Flies buzzed around him. The homeless man farted and turned over in his sleep, grumbling slightly.

"It's so beautiful," Michelangelo murmured in wonder. _It's better than I ever thought it would be,_ Michelangelo thought as they looked out into the streets.

The turtles wandered into the streets, just looking around. Leonardo was letting his true excitement show as he ran around happily. Leonardo's brothers followed behind him.

"The city is just full of possibility," Leonardo exclaimed. "There could be an adventure around this corner." He looked around the corner he was by. Then he ran over to the other end of the alley they were walking out of. "O-Or this one." He ran to another corner into another alley as the guys follow behind him, Raphael and Michelangelo trying to be sneaky while Donatello is just walking on the sidewalk. Leonardo looked around the corner and he found a cat sitting on top of a dumpster, licking its paw, purring slightly. When it saw Leonardo, the cat meowed.

_Aw, it's a cat! _Michelangelo thought loudly.

"There's not, but there could be!" Leonardo claimed as he ran down the street. Michelangelo followed, jumping around on things. Donatello walked after the two and Raphael followed Donatello.

Donatello passed a computer store with lots of computers on display, he shot up to the display and pressed his face to the glass. "Look at all the computers!" Donatello sighed with adoration in his voice. He gasped suddenly as he looked at one of the computers. _Oh, wow. They're so beautiful. I've never seen so many computers in one spot!_ Donatello thought. _I-Is that what I think it is? "_Is that the next generation cadmium processor with quantum encryption?"

Raphael walked up behind Donatello, looking at him. _Does he expect us to know the answer? I don't even know what the hell half the words that came out of his mouth are!_ Raphael thought. "I don't know, Donatello," Raphael responded, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Is it?"

Donatello took a closer look at the computer behind the glass. "It is!" Donatello cheered excitedly. _Maybe I could build it. But it'll probably never be as amazing as the real thing,_ Donatello thought, going over plans in his head at a mile a minute.

Michelangelo stops walking in front of a glass window for a store. The glass had a blinking hand and eye that lit up. It was fascinating to him. He had never seen anything like it before, except for maybe one time, but he'd prefer not to go over that memory. He decided to get his brothers' attention.

"Guys, guys!" Michelangelo called out. All of his brothers looked at him. Michelangelo placed his hands on the glass. "Check this out! A hand made out of light." The hand lost light and the eye lit up. Michelangelo gasped in wonder as he pulled his hand back. "Now it's an eye made out of light." He gasped when the hand lit up again. He put his hands back on the glass. "And the hand again! Now the eye's back! Now the hand!"

Raphael walked up behind Michelangelo and grabbed the ends of his mask. "Come on, genius," Raphael snapped as he dragged Michelangelo into the street where their other brothers were waiting for them.

"The eye!" Michelangelo cried.

"So where to next?" Donatello wondered as Raphael got Michelangelo into the street. Suddenly, a light shined on them and a kid on a motor bike drove up to them and stopped in shock. He has a few pizzas on the back of his bike.

"Huh?" the pizza guy questioned softly, looking at the turtles in front of his bike, highlighted in the bright light coming from the bike. Donatello, Leonardo, and Michelangelo looked at the kid, just as scared of him as he was of them. But, Raphael was smiling evilly. He held his hands up by his face and wiggled his fingers as he growled loudly at the pizza guy.

"Ah!" the pizza guy yelled, turned his bike around, and drove off. In the process of getting away, one of the pizzas slid off the bike and onto the street. The guy quickly disappeared, desperate to get away from the scary turtle.

Michelangelo stood up with a scared expression as Raphael laughed. Leonardo had a straight face, but inside, he was mad at Raphael. _How could he be so reckless?_ Leonardo thought angrily. Raphael chuckled, "That was kind of fun."

"We're too exposed out here," Leonardo pointed out. He looked up at the rooftops, hoping that they'd be safer up there where no one could see them. "Come on." Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello run towards the closest building, knowing what Leonardo was implying. Michelangelo started to follow, but he stopped mid-step when he saw the pizza box on the street.

_Hmm. I better bring this to Leo or Donnie, just to make sure it's safe. I just hope they don't leave me behind,_ Michelangelo thought as he picked up the box and followed his brothers onto the rooftops.

"Guys, wait. I have something," Michelangelo called to them as he got to the top before they jumped off the roof. They stopped and looked back at him. He held out the pizza box and they walked back to him. Donatello took it from Michelangelo and placed it on a raised part of the roof. They all got in a circle around the part of the roof that stuck out about three feet and looked at the box.

"Pizz-a?" Michelangelo tried out, looking at the label on the box. Donatello looked at Michelangelo warily.

"Should we open it?" Donatello asked.

"Careful," Leonardo said quickly. "It could be dangerous."

Raphael completely ignored his older brother and opened the box, flipping the top off. They all looked at the pizza once the box was opened and they were curious as to why the pizza was steaming.

"I think it's…food," Donatello told them.

"It's not like any food I ever saw," Raphael pointed out.

"I'll try it," Michelangelo spoke up. _If it's food, I'm willing to try anything,_ Michelangelo thought. His brothers let him eat it, not willing to risk it. They would let Michelangelo try it. Michelangelo hesitantly picked up a slice of the hot pepperoni pizza and brought it to his mouth. His brothers watched him carefully. Michelangelo took a bite slowly and inside his head, his brain exploded. _Oh, wow! It's so delicious! Mmm!_ Michelangelo thought as he chewed more and swallowed.

"Mmm! Mm!" Michelangelo moaned as he shoved the rest of the pizza in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. He let out a belch and his brothers looked at him oddly. _I have to eat the rest of this by myself. I can't let them take my deliciousness from me,_ Michelangelo thought as he looked back at his brothers.

"Uh…" Michelangelo lied. "Yuck. You guys…won't like it. I'll take the rest!"

Michelangelo tried to grab the rest of the pizza, but his brothers slapped his hand away. "No way!" Raphael snapped at Michelangelo.

Each of the turtles argued over the pizza as they each took a slice for themselves. "Back off!" Leonardo hissed. Raphael took a bite out of his own slice.

"I never thought I'd taste anything better than worms and algae, but this is amazing!" Raphael laughed, eating his slice of pizza quickly.

Michelangelo threw his hands back in enjoyment. "I love it up here!" Michelangelo yelled, scaring a bunch of pigeons away and they flew overhead.

They all finished their pizza and ran off, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, having some fun. They all jumped off the rooftop they were on onto another rooftop, this one lower. "Yeah!" Michelangelo laughed.

"Whoo-hoo!" Donatello chuckled excitedly. _This is so fun!_ Donatello thought in his head, enjoying the feel of the wind blowing his mask back.

_Oh, yeah!_ Leonardo thought as he laughed, running across the rooftops.

"Hee-hee!" Donatello giggled.

"Ha-ha!" Michelangelo cheered.

Leonardo jumped onto a mini rooftop water tower, flipping sideways. He launched himself back off the water tower.

After another minute of running around, they all slid to a stop on the edge of a rooftop. Michelangelo stood on the left of the group, Donatello stood next to him, Leonardo stood on Donatello's other side, and Raphael stood on the right.

As much as Leonardo didn't want to admit, he knew that Splinter was worried about them and that they should go home. He wanted to be the honorable son that he was.

"Alright, guys. It's getting late. We should probably head back home," Leonardo sighed. Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello all groaned.

_Not cool, Leo,_ Michelangelo thought. "Lame," Michelangelo muttered quietly.

_I wasn't done exploring yet. I really wanted to find another computer store to look at. This isn't fair. Who cares if it's getting late? We can go home when it starts getting light out,_ Donatello thought, depressed now. Then Donatello saw April.

The red-headed, blue-eyed teenager was walking on the sidewalk a few blocks away from her apartment with her dad by her side. She wore a yellow shirt, and shorts that were really short. She wore black leggings under them with dark brown boots.

The guys started to walk off, but Donatello gasped. "Guys, look at that," he murmured, pointing down at April. The three other turtles looked at where Donatello was pointing, turning their bodies halfway around.

Donatello watched after April, completely love struck. He was drooling a bit as his heartbeat sped up. _Oh, wow,_ Donatello thought. "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Donatello sighed, with love in his voice.

_Oh, God. Donnie's gonna make me sick,_ Raphael thought as he looked at his slightly younger brother.

"Isn't she the…only girl you've ever seen?" Raphael asked, ruining Donatello's perfect moment. Donatello looked at Raphael, slightly annoyed. Donatello turned his head up, deciding to ignore Raphael's attempt at annoying him and distracting him.

"My point still stands," Donatello said simply, closing his eyes. His left eye flashed opened as he heard tires and brakes squeal on the street below them. A van stopped on the street in front of April and her father, Kirby.

"What?" Kirby asked softly as a guy jumped out of the passenger seat of the van. Four more guys—identical guys—jumped out of the back of the van. The four identical men walked towards April and Kirby, where April was holding onto Kirby's arm tightly.

"What is this?" Kirby demanded.

April gasped in shock, scared. On the rooftop, Donatello gasped, terrified for April. He was kneeling on the edge of the roof.

"We've gotta save 'em!" Donatello gasped. Before Donatello could jump off the edge, Leonardo gripped Donatello's shoulder, preventing Donatello from jumping off. Donatello resisted the urge to growl at his older brother. _Let me go, Leo, or I will drag you off this building with me,_ Donatello threatened in his head. _I have to go save the girl. If I don't, I'll never be able to forgive myself for letting her get hurt._

But Leonardo had to follow what Splinter told them. He wasn't about to let Donatello disobey Splinter and then get himself in trouble, as well. He didn't care what Donatello wanted to do. "Splinter's instructions were very clear. We're supposed to stay away from people…" Leonardo explained, then placed his hands under his chin in fists, with a sort of horrified look, "and bathrooms."

_Eh, Donnie wants to pick a fight with those guys. I will, too. Anything to get in a fight. And make Leo look stupid,_ Raphael thought. "I thought you wanted to be a hero," Raphael pointed out. "Since when do heroes ask for permission?"

"They don't, but—" Leonardo started, but Donatello cut him off.

"Well, I'm going!" Donatello stated and jumped off the rooftop, landing on the ground, a battle plan already in mind. _I knock them all out, then I save the girl and her dad and I'll be a hero. And maybe she'll like me,_ Donatello thought.

Raphael and Michelangelo landed on the ground next to Donatello. They each pulled out their weapons, getting ready and observing the scene before them.

Leonardo looked down on everything, sighing. _Great, my brothers are going to get hurt, then I'll get in trouble. Might as well disobey Splinter to save my brothers' stupid shells,_ Leonardo thought as he jumped off the rooftop, as well, planning his own plan out already.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Did anyone see the season premiere for season 2 of the turtles this morning? Oh, it was so funny. Please tell me what you thought of the chapter and the season premiere! :D_


	4. Episode 1-Part 4

**Pairings:**_ April/Donnie(in Donnie's mind :D)_

**A/N:**_ Yay! Another chapter! _I'm awesome and y'all know it, _thank you so much for reviewing! And I know. I feel so bad for Donnie. He's probably heartbroken now. All because Mikey couldn't keep his mouth shut. I can't wait to find out what happens in the next episode. Donnie convinces Splinter to let them go rescue April in this chapter after they all fail in saving her and her father the first time. Donnie's face in this part of episode 1 was so cute!_

* * *

**Chapter 4: **_Episode 1—Part 4_

On the street, one identical man from the group picked up Kirby by the collar of his shirt and threw him into the back of the van, Kirby already unconscious. April was crying for her dad and for help. Another identical man and the first guy from the van was holding April back while the two other identical men stood off to the side and watched.

"Help! Help!" April cried.

Raphael snuck up behind the man who threw Kirby into the van. "Hey!" Raphael yelled. The man turned his head slightly and Raphael punched him in the stomach. The man stumbled backwards, but didn't fall on the ground like Raphael had hoped. Behind the man, the other three turtles were fighting the other people in the group. The man stood up straight.

"Still standing, huh?" Raphael demanded. He pulled out his sais and spun them in his hands. "I'll fix that." As Raphael tried to charge forward, Leonardo was thrown into him, stumbling quickly. Another man was following Leonardo.

"Watch it!" Leonardo snapped.

"You watch it!" Raphael growled. Leonardo leapt over the man's head, hoping to lead him somewhere else. Another man walked up in front of Raphael and Raphael jumped back before the man could punch him. Instead, the man punched the ground where Raphael had been standing. The man quickly tried to punch Raphael and Raphael blocked the man's fist with his wrist. Before the man could try anything else, Raphael flipped backwards and landed on his feet. Donatello accidentally walked backwards into Raphael, holding his Bo-staff out in front of him in defense.

"Watch it, Donnie!" Raphael snapped. Donatello used his Bo-staff to block the man who was attacking him and he knocked the end of it into the man's face. He spun it around and jabbed it into the man's chest.

"Whoo!" Donatello cheered quietly. Michelangelo flipped backwards near where Donatello was standing as Donatello ran off to go find another opponent. Michelangelo spun his nun-chucks around and instead of hitting the man like he had hoped, one of his nun-chucks got stuck in between the points of Raphael's sai. Raphael tried yanking his sai free as a guy was approaching him, and he just narrowly avoided getting punched in the face as he rolled out of the way, getting his sai free just in time. Raphael ran at the man's back.

Leonardo flipped out of the way of a guy's fist and he held his katanas up in front of him, crossing them. Then Donatello's Bo-staff accidentally whacked Leonardo's katanas.

_Really, Donnie? Stay out of my way!_ Leonardo thought as Donatello went back to defending himself like before. Leonardo swung his katanas out as he stepped away, trying to clear his head. He ran at a guy and was jabbing his katanas at the guy when Raphael got in the way. So, Leonardo's katanas connected with Raphael's shell.

"What the—!" Raphael yelled, then the same guy who Leonardo was aiming for punched Raphael in the side of the head. Raphael flew onto the street. _Damn it, Leo! I almost had him! And that hurt!_ Raphael thought as Leonardo led the guy a different direction. Raphael got to his feet and before the guy he was fighting with now could punch him, he tried using the same trick he had used on Leonardo earlier, to flip his opponent over his shoulder. So, Raphael caught the guy's wrist between the points of his sais and tried yanking it over his shoulder. But, the man wouldn't budge.

"Oh, come on!" Raphael grunted. Then, the guy used his other fist to punch Raphael in the face. Raphael flew onto the street again. Leonardo jumped and rolled out the way of the guy he was fighting. He ducked under another guy's fist and kicked him in the stomach, then kicked the other guy in the stomach while still in the air, and when his feet touched the ground and he turned around, the first guy punched him in the plastron, sending him flying backwards.

Meanwhile, the fourth guy who had stayed out of the fight picked April up and slung her over his shoulder. She was screaming for help while the guy tried to carry her back to the van. "Hey, cut it out! Stop!" April yelled, beating on the guy's back with her fists. "Ow!"

This got Donatello's attention and he stopped what he was doing to try to find where April was at and what was happening to her. "Huh?" he gasped quietly and then he saw what was going on. _How dare that jerk tries to hurt her?! _Donatello thought angrily and threw his Bo-staff at the guy. The end hit the guy in the back and as the guy stumbled forward, he threw April up into the air, unable to hold onto her. Donatello rushed forward and caught April before she could hit the ground.

"Gotcha!" Donatello said victoriously, smiling down at the red-head in his arms. What he didn't expect was for her to scream in his face after he saved her life. "Ah!" In shock, Donatello accidentally dropped her on the street. He was freaking out inside. _That can't be good. Oh, what does that mean? _Donatello thought, scared out of his mind. _What if I scared her? Did I hurt her?_

She started to back away, staying on the ground. She kept a very sharp eye on Donatello. _What the heck is that thing? He must be one of the guys who's trying to hurt my father and me. He's got to stay away from me,_ April thought, scared, as well. When Donatello saw how scared she looked, he realized what he had done wrong. He knew he must seem like a bad guy because of how he looked.

"No, no, no. No," Donatello insisted. _She's got to see that I'm trying to help her out or else she's going to get hurt. Or me,_ Donatello thought as he slowly started to advance on her, holding his hands up. _Please trust me. I'm just trying to help you. I'm actually really nice, despite what I am._ "Don't worry. We're the good guys."

April screamed again, terrified now. She wanted to tell him to back off, but she couldn't form words. _That's what every bad guy would say,_ April thought, still backing up.

The identical men started to slowly walk up behind April, or a few of them. Michelangelo was still trying to fight one off. Leonardo and Raphael had a little time to watch what their brothers were doing. They were trying to stay away from each other so they wouldn't yell at one another and get the attention back on them. _Donnie obviously is blind if he thinks that she's actually going to accept him and let him help her,_ Raphael thought as Leonardo went to go help Michelangelo out.

"It's okay," Donatello tried again, smiling comfortingly, but it freaked April out even more. April got up on her knees, turning her back on Donatello, and she saw two of the men approach towards her. She was whimpering in fear, trying to decide who to trust. _I mean, those guys hurt my father. But, the green guy—whatever he is—really looks scary. But, if I go with the men, I'll see my father,_ April thought quickly. She looked back at Donatello and he smiled softly, holding out his hand. _Oh, screw it. I'll go with the green guy._

She reached up to take Donatello's hand, hoping she made the right decision. But, Michelangelo jumped backwards, accidentally leading the guy towards Donatello, which was not the smartest idea, but it's Michelangelo. What do you expect? Just before April could take Donatello's hand, Michelangelo swung his nun-chucks around and whipped Donatello in the back of the head. Donatello was dizzy for a second before turning to glare at his younger brother for screwing things up.

Donatello growled, seriously angry. _She was just about to take my hand, you idiot! Thanks a lot! Now I'm also going to have a major headache later!_ Donatello thought. "Whoops!" Michelangelo apologized. "Sorry." Then he saw the identical men behind Donatello. "Watch out!"

Before Donatello could realize what Michelangelo was talking about, one of the men kicked Donatello in the chest. Donatello flew backwards, taking Michelangelo out with him. They hit a dumpster a few yards back. They both fell to the ground, groaning in pain. _I guess that one was my fault,_ Michelangelo thought painfully. _But, seriously, how much does Donnie weigh? Ow!_

The other men put April into the back of the van, tape over her mouth. The van started up once everyone was back inside, and Donatello's head shot up when he heard the van start. He quickly got to his feet and ran for his Bo-staff. The van took off before Donatello could reach his trusty Bo-staff. "They're getting away! They've got the girl!" Donatello cried as he rolled, picked up his Bo-staff, and ran after the van. Leonardo and Raphael put their weapons away and ran after Donatello.

"You just jabbed me with your swords!" Raphael snapped, letting his anger out. Also, he said swords just to bother Leonardo. And it did bother Leonardo. He hated it when Raphael referred to his precious katanas as swords.

"Well, I didn't know you were gonna land where I was stabbing," Leonardo yelled back as they ran, hoping that they'd catch up to Donatello soon enough.

Michelangelo groaned as he picked himself up off the ground. _Great, I get hurt and they run off without me,_ Michelangelo thought as he started to walk in the direction that he had seen his brothers run. But, one of the guys walked up behind Michelangelo a few feet away. Michelangelo sensed the guy's presence and pulled out his nun-chucks, ready to defend himself. He turned around to look at the guy.

"You think you're tough, huh?!" Michelangelo yelled. "You think you're tough enough to stand up to my hot nun-chuck fury?! Whaa!"

He jumped back and forth between his spot and the guy who was watching him, swinging his nun-chucks around. Michelangelo hits the guy with his nun-chucks several times, and when he tried to hit him again, the guy caught the end of one of his nun-chucks, pulled it right out of Michelangelo's hand, and threw it on the street. Michelangelo looked at the guy, his fear finally dawning. He gulped.

"Huh?" Michelangelo said calmly. "I see. Well, then…" Michelangelo screamed in fear and ran off in the wrong direction of his brothers. The guy ran after him.

Meanwhile, Donatello finally caught up to the van. He tripped a bit, but managed to grab a hold of the back of the van. Leonardo and Raphael sped up so they could run on either side of Donatello to see if they could stop it. But, Leonardo realized something.

"Hey, have you guys seen Mikey? I don't think he ever followed us," Leonardo pointed out.

"What?" Donatello asked, distracted. He tripped on his feet and accidentally let go of the van. He rolled backwards a bit, finally settling on the street. His vision was swirled a bit because he had hit his head several times. Raphael and Leonardo stopped running and went to go help their brother up.

"You just had to bring that up," Donatello snapped, sitting up on his own. "Now the van's gone."

"Look. Let's just go find Mikey and go home. I know Splinter's waiting for us," Leonardo sighed, offering Donatello a hand. Donatello took it unwillingly and Leonardo yanked him to his feet.

Michelangelo slid to a stop in an alley that wouldn't lead anywhere. The guy came into the alley as Michelangelo turned around. Michelangelo pulled out his other nun-chucks as the guy walked towards him.

"Stay back!" Michelangelo yelled and slashed the guy across the face with the little blade that came out of one end of his nun-chucks. The guy held his face as he fell to the ground.

"What the?" Michelangelo asked quietly as he walked back to the guy when he heard something beeping. Michelangelo flipped the guy over with his foot, and he realized that half the guy's face was missing, exposing the metal and electronics beneath it.

"That is all kinds of wrong!" Michelangelo groaned as he looked at the guy. _Did I really just cut this guy's face off? But why is this guy made of metal? Oh, Donnie would probably love to look at this, but I'm not about to touch it and bring it back to the lair._

In the guy's chest, a brain opened its eyes and screamed at Michelangelo in fear, although it shouldn't have been too scared of Michelangelo. Michelangelo screamed back, his mind going crazy. _What the heck is that thing?!_ Michelangelo thought as the brain thing attacked Michelangelo's face, trying to suck it off. Michelangelo ran around the alley, frantically trying to get the brain off of his face. He ran into the alley wall, laid down on the ground and tried yanking it off with his feet and hands, tried standing up and trying to pull it off, and after a while, it finally came off. The brain thing flattened against the wall and fell to the ground. It screeched as it scampered off, totally afraid of Michelangelo.

Michelangelo ran out of the alley, hoping to find his brothers. So, he ran down the street and finally spotted them walking together, looking for Michelangelo. Donatello was trying to stay quiet and trying to keep his brothers from calling for him, because he had a massive headache and loud noises were going to hurt his head.

Michelangelo ran over to his brothers, hoping he'd be able to tell them what had happened to him. "Guys! You're never gonna believe this!" Michelangelo panted, trying to be quick and loud so they'd get the point. "That dude, he-he had a brain!"

"We all have brains, Mikey," Leonardo sighed, glad he had found his youngest brother, but not glad that Michelangelo seemed to have gone crazy without them. _I never thought I'd have to have this conversation with any of my brothers,_ Leonardo thought sadly. _Too bad it's Mikey, who's probably not going to care._

"Not all of us," Donatello muttered softly and Raphael cracked a smile. _So true, Don. Mikey probably doesn't have a brain. We've all known this for years. Glad Don's finally pointing it out now,_ Raphael thought, amused. But Donatello had said it to get Michelangelo to stop talking so loud.

"In our chests?!" Michelangelo screamed at them and Donatello winced slightly, but no one really noticed.

Leonardo wanted to groan. _Jeez, how stupid is he, anyway? We don't have brains in our chests. We never will. Brains belong in heads,_ Leonardo thought to himself as he tried to explain. "No, Mikey," Leonardo groaned. "Not in our chests."

"You're not listening to me!" Michelangelo cried and Leonardo couldn't take it anymore. So, while Michelangelo was going to keep yelling at them, Leonardo raised his hand and slapped Michelangelo hard. Michelangelo immediately shut up and his instincts to defend himself kicked in.

"Did you just slap me?" Michelangelo demanded darkly, glaring at his brother.

"I was calming you down," Leonardo explained. _It always works with Mr. Crankshaw from Space Heroes. I wonder if it'll work on Mikey, who doesn't really ever calm down,_ he thought to himself curiously.

"Why would that calm me down?!" Michelangelo yelled at them.

"I think he's delusional," Donatello murmured, glancing at the ground slightly. He was really getting annoyed with Michelangelo. _It's just not possible. There's no way that the guy who followed Mikey could have had a brain in his chest and be alive. He must be delusional. The next time we come up here, he better not disappear because this is probably what we'll be dealing with if this happens again,_ Donatello thought.

"Just-just come here," Michelangelo insisted. He walked down the street, glad that it wasn't far to the alley he had been. His brothers hesitated, then followed their youngest brother. "I'm telling you, the big guy was a robot and he had a freaky weird alien brain thing in his chest. You've gotta believe me!"

Raphael looked at Michelangelo. "I'm not sure we do," Raphael admitted. Michelangelo turned his head and looked back at his brothers as they neared the alley.

"Oh, yeah?" Michelangelo asked. _They must think I'm a bonehead. I'm not. I'm telling the truth this time,_ Michelangelo thought as they walked in front of the alley that Michelangelo had been attacked in. "Well, you'll change your tune when you see that he's…"

Michelangelo looked into the alley and he realized with fear sinking in his heart that the guy was gone. "Gone?" Michelangelo finished for himself. _What? How is that guy gone? He was here like, five minutes ago. There's no way he could've gotten up that fast with half a face and the alien thing missing,_ Michelangelo thought desperately as he looked at his brothers with a sad look. Raphael shook his head sadly as Michelangelo's three other brothers walked off, leaving him behind.

Michelangelo looked into the alley, hoping he had missed the guy. _Now I really do look stupid,_ Michelangelo thought as he traveled into the alley, looking around. Donatello stopped, looking back the way he had come. Michelangelo was not following them. "Guys, go ahead. I'm going to go get Mikey," Donatello said, holding up his hand.

"Don't fall for anything he tries to tell you," Raphael snickered.

"Not likely," Donatello muttered as he stalked back to the alley Michelangelo was still exploring in. He reached the mouth of the alley and found that Michelangelo was looking behind some boxes. "Let's go, Mikey."

"Just let me find this sucker. There's no way he's gone," Michelangelo insisted. Donatello growled in annoyance and stormed forward. He yanked Michelangelo backwards by the ends of his mask. Michelangelo yet out a yelp as his shell hit the concrete and Donatello began dragging him.

"Donnie, please! Let me find him!" Michelangelo wailed.

"Shut up," Donatello snapped as he kept dragging him.

Leonardo and Raphael stopped at the manhole upon hearing Michelangelo's cry for help. They looked at each other before laughing.

"Man, Don can be a nightmare when he's mad," Raphael laughed, trying hard not to laugh too loud.

"No kidding. If even the king of scary movies gets scared of him, he's pretty scary," Leonardo agreed through his laughter as Donatello dragged Michelangelo into the alley. The two older turtles made way for their younger brothers as Donatello yanked Michelangelo to his feet and shoved him towards the open manhole. Michelangelo glared at Donatello childishly.

"Do you want me to shove you down there?" Donatello threatened. Michelangelo whimpered and jumped down into the sewers. Donatello smiled evilly at his older brothers.

"You can be a nightmare to be around sometimes, Don, I swear," Raphael told him.

"I know. You've told me several times just recently because I haven't been able to focus much because of you guys. And if you want me to get mad, be my guest. So get your shells moving. I just want to go home," Donatello muttered.

"You're just in a bad mood because you couldn't save the girl like you wanted," Raphael snapped, not in a good mood now. He didn't like it when Donatello ordered him around. He didn't like it when anyone did it to him.

Donatello ran at Raphael and Leonardo was responsible for dragging them apart, both of their fists and feet aimed at the other. "Guys, behave. I expect this kind of behavior from Raph when he's with Mikey. Especially not you, Don. Now let's go. Splinter's waiting," Leonardo growled as he pushed them both towards the manhole. Donatello was quick enough and one of his feet shot out in front of Raphael. Raphael didn't see it coming, and he tripped, exactly what Donatello had wanted. Raphael flew headfirst down the manhole and rolled in the water to avoid landing on his head.

Leonardo followed Raphael down, jumping down quickly. He just wanted to keep Raphael and Donatello apart. But, he couldn't be everywhere at once and keep Michelangelo and Donatello apart, as well as Michelangelo and Raphael apart. Donatello followed down, pulling the manhole cover back over the manhole, sealing them in until next time.

Back at the lair, all of them walked into the lair, Donatello in a slightly better mood since he had time to think while he had walked. Raphael was feeling better, too. Leonardo was anxious to tell Splinter about their night out, because he knew that Splinter was going to be expecting a story in full detail. Michelangelo was slightly better, but he was still annoyed that his brothers didn't believe a word out of his mouth.

They headed to the dojo where Splinter was waiting for them. They all bowed down before Splinter and kneeled on the ground. Raphael and Donatello sat on either side of Leonardo and Michelangelo sat down on Donatello's other side. _Well, I was mostly worried about Raph and Donnie being together right now. I guess this will work,_ Leonardo thought as he looked up at Splinter.

"So what happened?" Splinter asked curiously. He was eager to hear about what happened to them. He was also very worried that something bad had happened to them and he was waiting for something to come out of their mouths that would allow him to keep them down in the sewers for another year. He wasn't trying to be mean or anything. He was just worried about his sons, like a father should be.

"Okay, so we wandered around for a bit," Leonardo started.

"I saw a really cool computer shop," Donatello spoke up eagerly, wanting to explain the night to Splinter from his point of view. Splinter smiled.

"And I saw a really cool light up hand and light up eye on a window," Michelangelo said in wonder.

"Then Raph was a total idiot and a human saw us, but we didn't stick around for long," Leonardo spoke quickly and quietly, hoping Splinter didn't understand much. He didn't want to blow it all.

"I found something called pizz-a," Michelangelo added, smiling widely. He didn't even care that he was sitting next to Donatello. He was excited to recall the fun part of his night.

"It is actually pronounced "pizza," Splinter told his son. Michelangelo's eyes lit up excitedly. Splinter smiled more, despite that he had understood every word out of Leonardo's mouth. He and Donatello were the easiest to understand when talking quickly because they felt that they had to form every single word perfectly so they could understand it but not let anyone else try to.

"We ate the pizza then we ran across the rooftops for a while," Raphael added for once. "Then Leo told us we needed to go home and when we were about to, Donnie saw something."

Donatello ducked his head down, blushing slightly. No one seemed to notice except for Splinter. "What did you see, Donatello?" he wondered, trying to figure out what could embarrass his son and not the others.

"He saw a girl," Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo answered for Donatello at the same time. Splinter's eyes widened as Donatello tried to disappear into his shell, his blush growing. He was growing really uncomfortable now.

"Really?" Splinter wondered as he walked back and forth in front of them. He was speaking directly to Donatello now, although Donatello wasn't aware of this at first. When none of his brothers responded, he realized that he was in the spotlight. So he nodded, raising his head.

"But she was in trouble, so we went to go save her, but we didn't really do so well," Raphael muttered.

"I don't understand. We're so good at what we do. Then, when we actually got into a real fight, we sucked," Leonardo explained quickly.

"Mikey got his freaking nun-chucks stuck in my sais," Raphael argued.

"Donnie hit my katanas while I was trying to hit a guy," Leonardo added.

"Leo stabbed me in the shell with his katanas after he and Donnie ran into me," Raphael defended.

Splinter got mad at his sons. But, he knew that they wouldn't have been able to fight effectively as a team because they never practiced that way.

"And so your inability to work together allowed them all to get away!" Splinter snapped, summing it up.

Raphael turned to glare at Leonardo. "Well, maybe if I didn't have to waste time arguing with "Hero Boy," I could've saved them!" Raphael growled. Leonardo looked at Raphael angrily.

_Okay, I started this argument,_ Splinter thought to himself as he watched his sons argue with one another. _But why must they argue with each other over everything? Nothing they say to one another will change my mind. They're staying down here for another year until I feel like they're ready to go back up. _He was just going to watch how this was going to play out.

"Hey, if you hadn't gotten in my way, I could've done it!" Leonardo defended. Then he turned to glare at Donatello. "And you went flying off on your own!"

Splinter watched curiously. _It had been Donatello to start the fight? That's a first,_ Splinter thought as Donatello looked at his brother, hurt.

_Leo, I was trying to do a good thing! If you guys hadn't gotten in my way, I could've done it myself. You guys just got in my way and you're yelling at _me?! Donatello thought angrily.

"How smart was that?!" Leonardo demanded. Donatello's anger flashed to Michelangelo as he thought of how many ways his brothers had gotten in his way. The main person to do that was his younger brother.

"Well, it would've worked out great if somebody hadn't hit me in the head with their nun-chucks!" Donatello snarled at Michelangelo.

_Oh, so we're going to start accusing people sitting next to us? Is that it?_ Michelangelo thought angrily as he thought of something to yell at whoever was sitting next to him, which happened to be no one.

"Well, none of this would've happened if…" Michelangelo cut off as he looked over and realized he was sitting next to no one who hadn't accused him of something. So, he turned to the first person he could think of. "…somebody hadn't trusted us to go up there in the first place!" He froze when he realized he had just said that to Splinter. _Oh, I'm screwed,_ Michelangelo thought as he gulped. _Guys, this is a stupid game,_ Michelangelo thought as he looked up at Splinter, along with his other brothers who all took in a startled gasp softly.

"Oh, jeez. Sensei, I didn't mean to-" Michelangelo pleaded, but Splinter cut him off.

"No, Michelangelo. You are right," Splinter admitted.

"I am?" Michelangelo asked, shocked. His brothers were just as surprised to hear those words out of Splinter's mouth.

"He is?" Michelangelo's other brothers asked.

"You were not fully prepared for what was up there," Splinter explained. "I trained you to fight as individuals, not as a team. And as your teacher, your father, the responsibility for that is mine. Perhaps, in another year, we can try again."

Donatello was already enraged and shocked out of his mind before Splinter finished talking. _What?!_ Donatello thought. _There's no freaking way I'm waiting another year! I started this mess and I promised her that I'd save her! In a year, she'll probably be dead! I'm not about to let that happen! I'd never forgive myself if that happened to her!_

"W-what? Another year?" Donatello demanded, not about to yell at Splinter while trying to convince him to let them go save her. "Has everybody forgotten that people were _kidnapped?!_ They don't have a year! Sensei, we have to do something now!" Donatello felt the urgency fade when Splinter turned away from him. _I just screwed this up for us now. Great. Well, I have one more approach to this. Splinter always told me that he had found love in someone. Maybe if I relate to him in a way, he'll listen to me,_ Donatello thought as he looked up at Splinter's back pleadingly. His brothers watched him, wondering what the shell he was doing.

"You weren't there, Sensei," Donatello pleaded softly. Splinter froze. "You didn't see the way that girl looked into my eyes. She was scared, and she was counting on me…" He saw the way his brothers were looking at him and he quickly corrected himself, although it hurt him to do so, "…us to save her."

Splinter listened to his third oldest son talk and he realized with a shock that it was one of the ways he had once fallen for the woman he had loved, Tang Shen. And he knew then that he had to let his sons save the girl Donatello obviously felt something for. Because he knew that he wasn't about to deny Donatello that when he had once felt the same way and knew the feeling.

He looked at the picture on the shelf he was looking at. It was a picture of himself, Tang Shen, and their daughter, Miwa, before Tang Shen and Miwa died in a fire. He felt guilty for upsetting Donatello this way when he should know how important this girl was to Donatello already.

"Yes," Splinter breathed. "You must save her."

"I agree, Sensei," Leonardo spoke up and Donatello frowned. _Yeah, right, Leo. You didn't want anything to do with them before Splinter said something. Such a suck up,_ Donatello thought angrily, although he was flipping inside after hearing that Splinter was going to give them another chance to save April and her father. "But in that fight, we weren't exactly a well-oiled machine."

"Like that robot with the brain thingy!" Michelangelo interjected. Then he remembered that he had never told Splinter about that guy. Splinter hadn't given him a chance. But, all of his brothers looked at him weirdly.

"Give it a rest," Raphael sighed.

"If you are to fight more effectively as a unit, you are going to need a leader," Splinter told them.

"Can I be the leader?" Leonardo asked eagerly, raising his hand. Raphael glared at him.

"Why should you be the leader?!" Raphael snapped, punching his hand. "I kicked your butt! I should be the leader!"

"Hey, I'm smarter than all you guys put together!" Donatello defended. _I'd feel so much better knowing that my plan saved that girl and her father. Then she'd really appreciate me, no matter how afraid she had seemed of me earlier. _"It should be me."

"No way! It should be me!" Michelangelo said strongly. All of his brothers looked at him in disbelief. All three of their thoughts followed the lines of, "Did he really just say that?!" "I don't really have a reason. I just think that it would be neat."

Splinter walked towards his room to meditate. He had to think about how he felt about Donatello falling for a _human_ and if it would be okay if they were to expose themselves to her. "This is a difficult decision," Splinter lied. He looked back at his sons who looked at him once he was inside his room. "I will meditate on it." He had already thought about who would be the best leader. He closed the fabric partition doors to his room for a second before poking his head back out. "It's Leonardo."

Leonardo smiled widely, knowing he was in power over his brothers now, not just in age, but in position. It made him very happy that Splinter had chosen him. He decided to gloat a bit. "No hard feelings, Raph?" he asked.

Raphael got to his feet and started to storm out of the dojo. He growled, "Stick it in your shell."

* * *

**A/N:**_ So, sorry if this chapter sucked. I'm so tired right now and I totally made up the scene between the part where Splinter yelled at them and the guys walking away from Mikey after finding that the Kraang were nowhere to be found. And I seem to be very distracted right now. So, sorry. I'll make the next chapter better. But tell me what you thought of this one. Please? Please?! Sorry, I'm being like Mikey right now. :D_


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